Since starting my coaching practice about 18 months ago I have been loving seeing the shifts in people, I’m trained as a Grey area drinking recovery coach, an NLP practitioner and also EFT, so I have a whole bunch of certifications, and of course a wealth of experience, but it came to my attention that lots of people want to start doing this work and need a bit of guidance around the ‘business aspects’   Dan Cormac wrote this piece on insurance.  He really knows how to make his money go further. A freelance financial journalist, Dan is passionate about personal finance. Whether you hope to escape the chains of debt, to save for a house, or to retire within a decade, Dan explores the most effective ways you can achieve your financial goals.

3 Reasons Why Health Coaches Need Insurance

Becoming a health coach will allow you to help people improve their nutrition and holistic health. You will have a positive impact on others and perform meaningful and fulfilling work. The demand for health coaches is growing and now is the ideal time to join this exciting and dynamic industry.

As a health coach your focus will be on helping people lead healthier lives; therefore, business insurance may be the last thing on your mind. However, having insurance coverage is vitally important to protect you and your business. With that in mind, here are three reasons why health coaches need insurance.

1. You accidentally provide incorrect advice

Health coaching involves giving people expert advice and helping them lead healthier lives. Health coaches want to do right by their clients and provide the best service possible, but mistakes can happen. If you accidentally provide a client with incorrect advice, then you risk facing accusations of negligence. In this situation, you may have to deal with a lawsuit and a compensation claim.

This is where professional liability insurance comes in. Every health and wellness coach should have professional liability insurance to cover errors, omissions, and malpractice. With this cover, one of the essential policies is that you and your business will be financially protected if you make a mistake or don’t deliver on business agreements. For example, this could occur if you provide a client with advice which leads to an injury or a medical condition.

2. You have an accident while visiting a client

Often, health coaches visit clients at their homes or other locations such as their places of work. If you have a car accident while visiting a client, then it’s highly unlikely that your personal auto insurance will cover you. This means that you will be held personally responsible for any expenses relating to property damage or personal injury. With that in mind, it is always advisable to take out commercial car insurance, even if you don’t travel for business often. That way, you can have confidence knowing that your business finances will not suffer if you are ever involved in a car accident while working.

3. A client is injured in your home

Most self-employed health coaches run their businesses from home and arrange for clients to visit them for treatment sessions. Whenever a client enters your home, you are at risk of them injuring themselves and filing a personal injury claim against your business. The easiest way to protect yourself from these types of claims is by taking out commercial liability insurance. This cover will safeguard your business against legal costs if someone is injured in your home or business premises.

Final thoughts

Working as a health coach can be extremely rewarding and you will have the chance to help others lead healthier and more fulfilling lives. However, you should keep in mind that health coaching is a fairly unregulated industry, which puts individuals at risk of lawsuits and claims. For that reason, every health coach should consider taking out insurance coverage to protect their business and finances in the above scenarios.

Contact me if you’d like to know more about my coaching, or to be recommended to the trainers I worked with for recovery, wellbeing and and confidence coaching, NLP and EFT @janeyleegrace